Oxford United players and staff were forced to use taxis and their own cars to get to their match at Accrington Stanley after their team coach was shut down by an alcohol spray used to combat coronavirus.
With the squad ready to leave the team hotel for Saturday’s 3pm kick-off, the spray was issued to all passengers as part of the club’s precautions to combat the spread of Covid-19.
But the alcohol-based spray triggered the in-built breathalyser on the team coach, causing the vehicle to stall.
The coach’s safety measure – used to prevent drink driving – was subsequently activated, meaning the vehicle would be essentially shut down for six hours.
"A lot of clubs at our level aren't doing Covid regulations properly, they're miles off it in some places,” said Oxford United boss Karl Robinson.
"We've spent a lot of money on making sure our players are safe and everything that goes with it.
"The problem is the blowing machine got affected by the alcohol gel on the coach, which meant when he (the driver) blew into it the coach stalled and wouldn't start for six hours.
"We had to use staff cars, taxis, you name it to get to the ground."
"This week has certainly been sent to test us,” the former Charlton boss continued. "It is what it is, you can't change it. We know things aren't falling in our favour.
"But it won't affect our attitude, the players are motivated by what's gone wrong.
"That's the beauty of life, when the going gets tough, the tough get going."
